10 Years of…Economic Justice

We are in the middle of a 10 day series on the history of NMILC as part of our 10-year anniversary celebration. Each day we will be sharing highlights from one of our organization’s programs . Check back tomorrow for the next installment in the series!

In listening to the stories and concerns of our low-income immigrant communities looking to start a small business, we assessed major obstacles they face in their journey to economic stability. These include:

• Lack of information about the complex tax systems and variety of taxes that come with being an entrepreneur.

• Lack of information available in language of origin.

• Increase in wage theft cases related to:

• Tax Mis-Classifications 

• Breach of Contracts

• In response, the NMILC offers a variety of legal services and resources to immigrant entrepreneurs in our state that include increasing financial literacy, technical assistance, consumer protection information, and asset-building support. This year we have provided our communities with:

• Wage Theft Clinics - Together with our partners at El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos and the University of New Mexico Law School, NMILC held community clinics that focused on providing vital information to our community regarding entrepreneurs rights and recognizing signs of wage theft. Need more information. 

• Economic Justice Workshops - Partnering with the New Mexico Dream Team, NMILC hosted workshops that provided legal information on tax liability, EIN/ITIN options, and industry-specific regulations that open accessibility to immigrants starting their own business. Need more information.

This past 30-day budgeting legislative session, the NMILC made history with the passing of Senate Bill 137 into law. The law removes professional and occupational licensing barriers and extends access to all New Mexicans, regardless of immigration status, making our state 13th in the nation to enact a law extending access to the immigrant population. 

Our staff attorney, Jazmin Irazoqui-Ruiz, served as legal expert and led the legal efforts of the bill through the legislative process. The bill ended a long standing federal barrier that prevents undocumented immigrants from gaining access to professional, commercial, and occupational licenses unless states opt out individually by opening eligibility through state legislation.